I'm the Detroit bureau chief for Forbes, which means I spend most of my time covering the automotive industry. But I also keep an eye on the rest of America's heartland—where stuff is manufactured and grown. I've been on the auto beat for more than 20 years at Forbes, Business Week and the Detroit Free Press. At the Boston Globe, I rode the tech bubble for a while, but I found there's nothing quite as fun as the auto beat. Whether you drive a car or not, everyone has an opinion about cars or car companies. What's yours?

Automakers' Report Card: Who Still Owes Taxpayers Money? The Answer Might Surprise You

It’s been three years since General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, but with the political season in full swing, the two presidential candidates have put the auto industry bailouts back in the public eye, at least through the November election. Yet there’s only one Detroit automaker still in hock to U.S. taxpayers and – guess what? – it’s not GM or Chrysler.

Ford Motor owes the government $5.9 billion it borrowed in June 2009, the same month GM filed for bankruptcy. By Sept. 15, Ford needs to start paying that money back. In a government filing, the carmaker said $577 million is due within the next year, and the full amount must be paid off by June 15, 2022.

The Obama Administration, dreaming of a million electric cars on the road by 2015, loaned Ford the money to help it pay for development of hybrids and EVs, and to retool its factories to produce smaller, cleaner vehicles. While not characterized as a “bailout” by any means, let’s be honest: Ford’s loan – received at a critical time when other sources of financing weren’t available to automakers or their suppliers – no doubt helped the carmaker survive the industry crisis and contributed to its strong market position today, especially after the Obama Administration finalized tougher fuel economy rules this week.

Indeed, lest we forget: the feds in 2009 were handing out fistfuls of cash to bolster the auto industry, beyond the $64 billion used to bail out GM and Chrysler. Treasury staked another $18.7 billion on rescuing the companies’ auto lending affiliates (it still owns 74% of Ally, formerly known as GMAC). And the Energy Department doled out billions more to Ford and others to preserve auto-making jobs in the U.S. while steering the industry toward cleaner vehicles.

“We have an historic opportunity to help ensure that the next generation of fuel-efficient cars and trucks are made in America,” President Barack Obama said in a statement on June 23, 2009 announcing the loans to Ford and two others. Energy Secretary Steven Chu added: “By supporting key technologies and sound business plans, we can jumpstart the production of fuel efficient vehicles in America. These investments will come back to our country many times over – by creating new jobs, reducing our dependence on oil, and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.”

No company was a bigger beneficiary of the DOE’s green car funding initiative than Ford. It received two-thirds of the $8.8 billion loaned under the department’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. Congress appropriated $25 billion for that program in late 2008, during the waning days of the Bush Administration, around the same time the auto company CEOs were getting grilled on Capitol Hill.

The other ATVM recipients were Nissan ($1.6 billion), Tesla Motors ($465 million), Fisker Automotive ($529 million) and the Vehicle Production Group ($50 million), a start-up company promoting a handicapped-accessible van that runs on natural gas.

The DOE spent another $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money – most of it in Michigan – to provide matching grants to help companies build manufacturing facilities for advanced batteries and EV components. Unlike the ATVM loan program, those grants don’t have to be paid back.

So how did all that government aid for the auto industry work out? The results are mixed, at best. Chrysler, despite its long odds, is doing surprisingly well under Fiat ownership. Successful turnarounds at GM and Ford in the U.S. are weighed down by problems in Europe.

But car buyers, it seems, weren’t nearly as excited about electric vehicles as President Obama, who has since backed off his 2015 EV target. Most of the government-backed battery factories are operating well below their production capacity. Many recipients have shifted their focus away from electric vehicles toward grid storage opportunities. At least three recipients of federal funding collapsed or are struggling to stay afloat. Battery-maker A123 Systems, desperate for money, fell into the hands of a Chinese auto supplier. Another, Ener1, went bankrupt and is now owned by a Russian business tycoon.

If you’re keeping score (and you should be) here’s a rundown of how some of the government’s largest auto industry investments turned out:

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It most definitely did ask for the loan. In fact, in November 2008, Ford asked for $11.4 billion, but after negotiating with the Energy Department, cut the request to $5.9 billion in June 2009. Ford often mentioned the loan as a key part of its liquidity strategy during the credit crisis. Agree or disagree with Obama’s green agenda, consumers naturally have been turning away from big trucks and SUVS toward passenger cars and crossovers, which get more miles per gallon. Ford would have had to retool its factories to produce more cars rather than trucks anyway. Money is fungible. This loan allowed Ford to invest in new products and factories when others couldn’t. Without this loan, Ford would be in worse shape today.

“….consumers naturally have been turning away from big trucks and SUVS toward passenger cars and crossovers, which get more miles per gallon”.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. SUV’s and Trucks are outselling the overpriced “crossovers” by the thousands. I think I’m one of the last people to drive a 4 door Car. It’s nothing but SUV’s on the road. The “crossovers” are overpriced and their mileage can be had by a dozen lower priced cars.

You sound like one of those deadbeats on the court shows who held their hand out to take a loan, but use the defense that they didn’t ask for it so it wasn’t a loan. Obama’s “green” agenda isn’t a bad thing, don’t you know, or are you one of those who help screw up the planet every chance you get.

And, by the way, Ford did ask for the loan, so you should get your facts straight.

As of 4/24/12, Ford had paid off $21 billion of the original $23 billion dollar loan and has recovered its investment grade rating by Fitch. And very shortly Ford will have paid back the remaining $2 billion dollars of the remaining balance. Hopefully, Mr Cavalieri you check the fact prio to posting again.

The only thing that surprises me is this misleading article. Let’s take a further look into what happened from the bail out. 1) GM’s union workers made out like bandits with the help of the socialist obama regime. GM stockholder and bondholders took it on the chin. You state GM paid off their loans. Yah, with government money. GM received billions in bailout money that will likely never be repaid. 2) Chrysler was permitted to be sold to a foreign auto company for pennies on the dollar. Nice move Obama. 3) Ford received money they probably didn’t even want to build green cars that nobody wants. The government should stay out of the free markets and let them win or lose on their own.

Ford is very hypocritical. I remember a TV add with Ford bragging they did not accept any government money, but you hear nothing about Ford taking secret money so the focus has always been on the evil GM.

A lot of consumers are flocking to Ford dealers just for this reason. Not because Ford builds better vehicles, but because they did not take any government money.

I’m an auto enthusiast and I know a lot about vehicles. Most GM vehicles are superior to the Fords, but it will take time for the media to start telling it like the way it really is.

More importantly, in the first instance you write that Ford ‘borrowed’ $5.9 Billion, then you write that Ford ‘borrowed’ $5.9 Million. Which is it? Who’s proofreading your copy? Expect more from Forbes.

I totally dont understand the whole “Bailout” concept. These people either have a product that the world wants … or it doesnt. No bailout is going to magically fix a company if their products dont sell. To continue to bailout … seems to ne to be counter productive…. bailout once… shame on you…. bailout twice… the government is simply dumping on the American taxpayer. There are plenty of car makers around the world…. Simply playing up the “American Legend” … and playing on Americans emotions… is surely a bullshit way of going through life.

For all the people that turned to ford when the American car companies went into a recession like era… you got stabbed in the back! Tried to keep it on the down low…. as for the electric idea, i dislike cause im all for high performance!

It goes to show, people may have labeled GM “Government Motors” but none of the car companies is without some form of support, whether it’s direct or indirect. Not to mention all the support overseas governments give their auto companies. It’s pretty hard for anybody to throw any stones.

Just for giggles, please run a comparison story on what other governments “bailout” their incumbent automakers. What does Japan do for Toyota, Honda and Nissan. What does Korea do for Kia, what does Germany do for VW. Throw in tarriffs and taxation too.

Great question, which is seldom asked by self loathing Americans. South Korea still has many state owned cheabols, including steel and banking, and Volkswagen and Porsche are partially owned by the government of Lower Saxony in Germany. Japan has very tight government emissions and engine size requirement regulations, and Japanese car companies and consumers are more subservient to patriotism than Wall Street, so Japanese car companies don’t demand much, IF ANY profit on their home turf.

Ford Motor Company, delayed a recall on a $21.00 defective cruise control switch for over 10 years, paying 425K to the NHTSA to recall in stages as to not scare off the consumer. ( I guess it was better to kill off the consumer) And pay a team of Dykema attorney’s /Judges to sweep the ashes under the table.﻿ Problem is those ashes are my son. Thanks Ford for the recall, came 9 months to late, even though the Lincoln was one of the first to be equipped with the defective cruise control switch

They didn’t use the same cruise control switch in Lincolns only certain models of Fords and Mercurys. So whoever did the investigation of what caused the fire didnt figure out what caused the fire they just figured it because they knew it was a problem in other Ford built vehicles.

I see the American Government investing in USA business trying to create jobs, where is the USA business community. Do Americans really prefer to trade stock to make money instead of investing in the future of America. No wonder we are in trouble, at least China has the resources to buy us if we fall.

So, the General Motors stock certificates that our government is holding is worth the value that it loaned them? The answer is no. You can look at this two ways. GM still owes the government money, or the government was stupid for taking the stock. What say you?

Joann this is a good article. I am not an Obama guy I have my reasons. Before people start throwing the socialist label around they have to admit that Reagan was a socialist too. Lee Iococca Went to dc with his hand out also. Got his loan and saved Chrysler. Chrysler has been owned by a foreign Company before. People may have heard of it. Daimler-Benz. Ford and Gm have also held/hold controlling interest in more than a dozen foreign companies. Once GM gets its head out of it’s but and builds that hydrogen rig they were working on they’ll be ok.

The people screaming at the buyout are also screaming for tarriffs on imports. So make up your minds Do you want the government to interfere or not? I for one am glad that our iconic brands are still alive.

Ms Muller, what is it that you don’t understand about a loan? The loan from the Energy Department was available to all the major automakers to upgrade their manufacturing operations to meet more stringent mileage standards. One of the key requirements of these loans was that the monies couldn’t be used to fund current operations, and the automakers that ask for the loans had to be considered viable.

Unfortunately, GM and Chrysler were not considered viable in the eyes of the Energy Department, so the loans were not available to them. They actually requested these loans, but were refused.

Some, like Ford and others took advantage of the available funds which were approved to upgrade their manufacturing operations and research into energy efficient and alternative fuel vehicles.

So what did Ford use this loan for? In your own words, “This loan allowed Ford to invest in new products and factories”. Yes, Ford invested the money in more fuel efficient products, exactly the purpose of the loans. Also, this $5.9 billion dollars will spawn another $14 billion dollars of “NEW” investment into advance technology fuel efficient vehicles in the next seven years.

I would say that the Energy Department’s ROI justified loaning the Ford Motor Company for new technology. By the way the $5.9 million will be paid back in full, unlike the bailout money to GM, which will add up to billions of dollars of losses to the taxpayers.

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